I had an interesting experience with Skat Haulers that I though might be useful for someone else looking to buy paddles.

I have been convinced that vulcanized straight paddle tires like the hauler were a lighter, faster tire than molded v-paddle types ever since my 250r days back in the mid 90s. Naturally when I bought my 450r I wanted to buy some haulers to match. I did my research on this site and found that most recommended a 20x10x10 7 paddle hauler for a good all around duning tire for Utah/Idaho sand and a nearly stock 450.

I found a deal on 10" black lables that had ruined sand skate II tire on them - So I bought them and headed down to RMATV to buy the 20" Haulers. Before I switched tires I weighed the sand skates (out of curiosity) at 15 lbs which seemed about on par with what I had seen in the paddle weight section.

When I mounted the haulers I was exited to weigh them in on the same scale and see how much poundage I had shaved off. to my surprise my new haulers each weighed 2 pounds more - 17lbs a piece! I was a little pissed since I'd just spent $300 - and I decided to weigh my wife's sandstars on that same scale (20x11x8 on blue lable) - 14lbs.

Well so I thought maybe a few pounds won't really make a difference out on the dunes. Again to my surprise after trying both tires on my 450 a number of times the sand stars seem to out-perform the haulers in every aspect. Overall turning is more stable and predictable with the stars (which I expected) and drag/hillclimb is also better( On the haulers I find myself having to drop into first gear on steep climbs that the stars handle well in second)

Now I am not a sand star fan boy, in fact those tires will be staying on my wifes bike, but I just sold the haulers and bought some play cut sand skate I (12 lb.)

In my experience it was not safe to assume that haulers or even straight paddles are always the best tire. I would still like to try 20x10x8 haulers on my bike sometime as I think the 10" black labels were a little heavy- but then again sand skate IIs on the same rims weighed 2 lbs less per tire.

Anyway I hope I didn't offend anybody I just thought I would put that out there in case it helps someone in a similar situation.

Ya all the really fast guys at FSA use sand stars...

Very nice thanks.

Again, I am just telling you what worked best for me. I have nothing against Haulers and man would I love to try some brats but I wish I could have saved some $ by buying the right tire for my bike the first time.

if you would have researched a little more 10" rims wouldnt have been you first choice.

I did a whole lot of research - and it was actually postings here on the org that convinced 10"s would be the best overall duning/occasional drag tire.

Now if I were to do it again I would most definitely go with 8" rims , but I can't help but wonder if other paddle tires on 8" rims would still be lighter/faster.

I guess I still keep going back to the fact that those sand skate 2's were 2 pounds lighter per tire than the haulers on the same rims.

When I rode the haulers I really wanted to justify spending the $, I wanted them to be better than the v-paddles - they just weren't.

if you want a tire to slide around w/ ease get v paddle. I you want to drag get a straight cut. There isnt much better that a 21x11x8 8 paddle hauler for the money. A 20" 8"rim sand star is a pretty good tire which won a v paddle shoot out. But if you hill shoot or tree shot it isnt the tire for that.

Were the tire diameters the same?
Did you experiment with tire pressures?
What about gearing?
That is a VERY VERY heavy set of Haulers.
Most are in the 12-14 pound range.
Thanks for sharing.

Yeah I was really surprised how heavy they were - I absolutely expected the haulers to weigh less than the skates they replaced. Here's a thought - Haulers that I have had in the past have had carcasses from other manufacturers(kenda etc.) but these ones actually said skat trak on the side.

I don't know how that explains anything however - you would think that if skat started making their own tires they would be lighter not heavier.

The really surprising thing to me was that on the same day with the same bike the sandstar was the better hillshooter/climber between my two paddle choices 20x11x8 sandstar and 20x10x10 hauler.

The only explanation I can come up with is the weight difference. I would love to try a 14 lb hauler vs the 14lb sandstar.

Again I'm not a sandstar fan boy, it just happened to be the other tire I had to compare with. I'm headed up to St. Anthonys on the 18th of July and can't wait to try the Skate I's and see how they stack up.

when you run a 8" rim the tire flares out more and puts you on top of the sand. With a 10" rim and less rubber they dig..

I think you need to find a new place to buy your tires from too lol. I picked up my 22x11x10 8 paddle xtremes with bead to bead buff for $220 mounted. I do a lot of business with this guy too though and he hooks me up whenever he can. Sometimes it pays to buy local. :)

Yeah I def. need some connections. Out of curiosity how much do your skats weigh?

Just for reference......

the Sand Skate I's were an AWESOME dune tire..... and they can haul @$$ down the straights as well....probably better than 'most' Skats.....

Sand Skate II's are also a very good tire choice....

I prefer straight paddles..... and yes, straights will out perform V paddles in a drag or hill shoot.....actually in most areas of duning except turning...... however, if you run too MUCH paddle, it will be slower than a comparable V paddle cuzz the V paddles are more forgiving (they dont load the engine as much).....so this might have been the case.....

there is NO paddle tire I have seen in person that is lighter than a comp cut Brat...... period...



however, and maybe I have not visited the tire section nearly as much as I should have in the past year or two.... but I cant imagine anyone recommending 10" wheels for anything other than play duning or turning..... the 8" diameter wheels are hands down better in almost all aspects of duning......... live and learn...lol


later......me~

i have a set of 20-10-10 haulers that say "skat trak" on the side also. i never thought to weight them tho'. at first i figured maybe they had made yours from some super heavy duty cases. i know my haulers work better for climbing and such than my sand stars did.
interesting point anyhow.....

skats from RMATV are not buffed, and if they are, they aren't bead to bead.....

Yes they are buffed. Only the mohawks are not.

I do however believe that skat tires are different at RMATV. I've heard more than once that skats purchased there were heavier than normal. I have some 69 rollout 21" 9 paddle gliders that weigh 13 lbs each on blue labels and they're standard buff, that I purchased at fullerton. 17 lbs is insane for a set of haulers.

i just picked up a set of 21x11x8 8 paddle haulers they weigh in at 14 pounds each on douglas .190 8x8 wheels after riding with those i will never go back to my old sand stars.

Well folks, decided to give skats another try - picked up some 20x10x8 7 paddles from local classifieds. (got them fort the same price that I sold the 10"s)

Huge difference. 13 lbs( 4 #'s lighter per tire) and feel much quicker. The last time I was out at ls utah with the 10" haulers/sand stars my mostly stock 06 would only pull 2nd gear up sand mtn and 1st up the chutes/needles/fingers.

In similar sand conditions with no other mods on the 8" haulers I could easily pull 2nd up the chutes and third up the face.

An interesting note unlike the 10's these tires use a chen shin carcass intead of the skat trak carcasss. coincidence maybe???

One more thing I don't feel like the 8"s give up any handling to the 10"s ( then again I didn't ride them back to back)

Moral of the story - I would buy 8" haulers the first time and avoid the skat trak carcass.